A Tribute To My 4 Year Love Affair with Timbuk2 Bags

So today, I bought a Timbuk2 Especial Messenger and a Timbuk2 Commute 2.0, both in Medium and black, from the Hayes Street Timbuk2 retail store. It’s a bit strange to finally come to San Francisco and visit this place, because I’ve had an unnatural obsession with messenger bags and other cycling/commuting paraphernalia from San Francisco since I got my first Timbuk2 around September 2010.

I mean, since then, I’ve owned 8 Timbuk2 bags, in messenger and backpack formats, as well as 2 bags from Rickshaw Bagworks (founded by Rob Honeycutt and Mark Dwight, the former of which founded Timbuk2 and the latter was a former CEO of the company). Oh, and a Rickshaw Folio for my Moleskine planner, which most people who work with me would have seen me using regularly. Today, my 9th and 10th bag joined me and I thought, well, time to do a small tribute.

So I made my first foray into this at an Epicentre selling Apple products. Flush with vouchers from some iPod Touch gaming challenge (I had walked around various stores on Orchard Road playing Flight Control in 1 hour and setting high scores), I had $90 of vouchers that were expiring and nothing that caught my eye. Until I saw a Timbuk2 Classic Messenger. The colours weren’t what I was looking for, but it seemed alright and I had heard of the brand before, recommended by the guy who runs Bonkers Link in Queensway. Topped up about $20 for it and walked away with my first Timbuk2. It was a little too small eventually, and the colours not my type, but hey, I still have it and it’s still good.

I finished my military service and suddenly discovered that Timbuk2 had made a waterproof messenger that I thought was really neat. Of course, when international shipping is so expensive, you don’t think about it much. Then somewhere on an online forum, someone started a mass order of bags internationally. I jumped at the chance to pick up a Mavericks for SGD$150 and hey presto, second Timbuk2. This one went with me to Shanghai just a few days later and I spent a cold December there with this snug on my back. I sold it in June 2011 though, still on the quest for The Perfect Bag.

Timbuk2 had a sale, and I had my eyes all peeled. USD$45 for a Hemlock that was in black with a touch of red (my favourite colour combination). I took it and had a lot of fun with the rolltop. Ultimately though, small proved to be a bit too small for me and I sold it eventually. I still like the look though, it was great (though to some chagrin, I could never get it to look as good as it did in the pictures when the models carried the bags).

After selling the Hemlock, I was still searching for the Perfect Backpack. And this is as close as it gets. I walked into Bonkers Link one day and walked out with a SGD$125 Zeitgeist. I still think the Zeitgeist has an amazing sillhouette for a pack. It’s roomy, has the Swing-Around Access (though I have left the zip open and let my MacBook Pro swing to the floor D:). This is still in my possession and I love it, with the small problem of a small hole on the base of the pack. It doesn’t affect the usage for now, but the worry wart in me is still deciding if I can live with it. This was my workhorse for two years: went to work with it, went to school with it. This one accompanied me around Canberra in Australia when I went for the ANU-XSA Global Cross-Disciplinary Tournament in 2011. Only complaint was that it didn’t have moulded back panels, but this feature has only appeared in the newer series of backpacks. I’ll figure out what to do with this when I get back to Singapore.

Black Friday or Christmas sale. Or something. I saw the chance to get this new Catapult model for pretty cheap (USD$40 or so) and I figured it filled a niche that was unoccupied. Till today, it’s my go to for a quick jaunt out: holds my Folio, Kindle, pencil case and a book or my Bible. I shipped it to a friend in the US, he brought it back for me and I was all happy. Still am happy with this one.

In the same order that I placed for the Catapult, I saw the new Lightbrite messenger. The old Mavericks had irked me a bit for some reasons, one of which was the fact that the foldover mechanism, while excellent at keeping stuff dry, also got a bit annoying when trying to stuff a pen or a something into the bag without opening it completely. So I saw the Lightbrite, with the red light stripe and logo with the black base and decided to give the fabric a go again! This one has been good: I went loads of places with it. I brought it to Iran in February 2012 and it was my load bag for school when I was lazy to empty out my Zeitgeist. Which does happen pretty often. It went along with me to Chapel Hill and I brought it with me for the trips to Dallas/Fort Worth and San Francisco. Most importantly, it was snugly on my back when I whizzed around the streets of San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge despite the bone-chilling winds. I liked having the pocket feature where I could stuff my wallet or whatever in without opening the bag. Only complaint was that the waterproofing coating was a bit finicky and wore off after a year, and the fabric was too light to hold a shape (why I eventually sent it back for warranty issues), so the bag could look floppy if I didn’t fill it completely. I’ll miss this guy though.

So errr, again, sale (I see a pattern here, guys :P). This worked out to about SGD$60 and I got it despite my misgivings about the herringbone tweed pattern (I thought it was a bit too hipster). It did grow on me eventually though, and I started using it in April 2013 for trips back home over the weekend. More importantly, this was my go-to bag for my 3 months in Chapel Hill. I carried it pretty much everywhere: classes, weekend trips to Boston, New York City, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth and to San Francisco. It had two pockets easily accessible (top loading for camera/passport/sunglasses; front panel for miscellany) and most importantly, EXTERNAL WATER BOTTLE SLOT. Drawstring toploading design meant I could stuff a lot of things inside, including clothes for my weekend trips and jackets when Chapel Hill was still chilly early summer. Only gripe was the laptop compartment was hard to reach and placing the internal pocket organiser on the part nearer the back meant the pockets kept catching on files when I stuffed files in at the back. Waterproofing gave issues though, so I got it returned for the warranty (I really like how Timbuk2 stands by their bags and is really willing to swop if issues arise).

This screamed out for purchase. I was in Memphis, somewhere in transit on my flight back from Dallas/Fort Worth. I saw this on sale at USD$49. And the salesman told me that with any purchase (however small), he’d discount it to $25. I got myself new Comply foam tips for my Westone UM-1s and…a new bag. I’ve loving this one so far: the size is just right for class, the organisation great and it fills up nicely. Plus, laptop compartment is more like my Zeitgeist! Time will tell how this guy fares.

Bag #9: Timbuk2 Commute 2.0, black/black/black (July 2013)

This one was from the pilgrimage to Hayes. I had been planning this for a bit: I was about to start my teaching attachment in the schools, I needed a messenger that would hold my laptop (I dislike putting my laptop across my back, it’s too heavy) and yet work as a satchel-style bag. So an all black one was in line, and the annoying TSA experiences with laptops got me to choose the Commute 2.0. I’ll find out how this works in the next few weeks.

After settling the warranty issues with my Yield and my Lightbrite, I had a LOT of store credit. And I had a 15% discount from the SF Bicycling Coalition tie-up with Timbuk2. I was getting the Commute 2.0 for sure, but I still had a lot of credit left. And so my eyes settled on their top of the line Especial Cycling Messenger that Shawn Quek had bought (he says he probably was the first to own it in Singapore and yes I believe him) a few months ago. Shawn and I are Timbuk2 fans, probably the only ones who are this crazy together. He’s had a few, and he was oozing all over his Especial when he first saw it online. I looked at the price and dismissed it (why the hell would I pay so much for something so high-end?!) But with a lot of credit, and a budget for a bag that wasn’t used, this caught my eye. Ah heck, just get it lah. There we went. I now have an Especial Cycling Messenger, which seems strangely appropriate to cap my crazy obsession with Timbuk2 bags. This, and the Commute 2.0 will follow me to Tokyo later this year and brave a year of travelling around Japan. Let’s see how it holds up (I’m excited already!)

So there you have it, 10 Timbuk2 bags in 4 years. What of the rest, you say?

Again, Fiona was the one who brought this back for me after picking it up from the Rickshaw factory. They gave me a sweet discount, plus they threw in goodies like button badges and Smartphone Strapcase (they messed my order up the first time and were really awesome about it). Oh, and they also sent me a Simple Pocket, and a Deluxe Organiser pocket. If there’s any company that really topped my list for great customer service, it’s them. I got a very nicely tricked out bag for a very affordable price. It’s my go-to bag for walking around town when I don’t have that much to carry, only problem is well, it doesn’t fit all my school stuff AND my MacBook Pro that well. Still my favourite combination though, since I have a matching Folio with the same X-Pac fabric and red binding.

So my friend works at Pivotal Labs, who ordered these for their employees in 2012. I like the Pivotal Labs logo, and this was in grey, so when she asked me if I wanted it (she knew I liked Rickshaw Bagworks stuff, and it was too big for her), I jumped at it. I love the size (handles files and enough clothes for a weekend well) and it’s got so much canvas! Excellent for pinning all the buttons that I pick up from wherever I travel to.

Folio #1: Rickshaw Folio, black with red trimming (August 2013)

This is the constant that wraps my precious Moleskine Weekly Planner. It holds my planner, my Field Notes notebook where I scribble my thoughts, my pens, little knick knacks and my name cards. It has been EVERYWHERE with me: Canberra in Australia, Tehran in Iran, Tioman in Malaysia, Tokyo in Japan, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Chapel Hill and almost every place in the US (except when I really couldn’t squeeze it in). It’s braved a lot of stuff and still looks great. While yes, it did cost me USD$50, which was a bit on the high end. But this is one thing I never regretted buying.

So that’s my 4 year obsession there. Will there be bag #11 and #12? Maybe, maybe not. I will start getting them for friends soon, but hopefully the current compliment of the Showdown, the Commute 2.0, the Catapult and the Especial Messenger will be enough to deal with all my needs. Over and out, for now.